1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an IC socket in which an IC package is loaded on a socket base and a pressing cover is closed relative to the base to press the leads of the IC package against corresponding contacts.
2. Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 5, in a conventional IC socket, a pressing cover 2 is attached to one end of a socket base 1 such that the cover 2 can be opened and closed through a hinge 3. By closing the pressing cover 2 relative to the socket base 1 with an IC package 8 loaded thereon, leads 9 of the IC package 8 are uniformly pressed against contacts 4 by a pad 5a of an IC pressing member 5, which is pivotally mounted on the pressing cover 2, against resiliency of the contacts 4. A closing state of the pressing cover 2 relative to the socket base 1 is maintained by a lock lever 7. A similar construction to this prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,176.
However, the socket having the above-mentioned construction has the following disadvantages. That is, since the pad 5a is disposed such that its pressing position corresponds to the leads 9 of one kind of IC package 8, the above conventional socket cannot be used for IC packages different from the above-mentioned IC package 8 and is thus uneconomical. Moreover, repeated use causes the pressing portion of the pad 5a to be worn, which results in a short service life, and thus the arrangement is uneconomical.
The present invention has been accomplished in order to obviate the above-mentioned disadvantages inherent in the prior art.